CSA Complimentary Resort Dive Questions?

My wife and I just got married last weekend and are leaving in two weeks on our honeymoon to CSA. Neither one of us are certified divers and she is a little hesitent to dive but said she will try anything once. With that said is it worth trying the complimentary course the resort offers and see if she likes it and if so maybe do the PADI course at the resort? What does the complimentary couse consist of....how deep a dive, how long to take the class...etc.?? Any and all info would really help our decision. Thanks!

I think that Couples is the perfect place to try the complimentary dive to see if you like scuba. No fee, which is fantastic. Any other place would charge you $100 (more or less) for a "resort" dive.

I did the complimentary dive at CSS, and it is very similar to CSA with one exception. At CSS, we had to swim 2 laps of the main pool, any style (I prefer breaststroke). At CSS, they make you swim 8 laps of the main pool freestyle. I'm a horrible freestyler - especially if I don't have goggles. A lot of people get weeded out just by the swimming test at CSA.

Having said that, they give you a lot of instruction prior to the dive, so the entire process is about 4 1/2 hours. You will watch a video, take a written test, and then try out the equipment in the pool, with the instructor providing close supervision. The dive itself is in about 50-60 feet of water and lasts about 20 minutes.

Finally, if you have any health issues at all (e.g., high blood pressure), you will need a note from your doctor at home prior to taking the course. Have fun!

Ooops, correction, I meant to say that you have to swim 8 laps at Swept Away (CSA).

DandJ - I am sure that you are correct on the depth. I am terrible at judging distances. I assume that you are a certified diver and I was hoping that a certified diver would take the time to respond to this post. Although I know that most certified divers tend to frown upon resort dives because of the risk involved.

The resort dive is at about 20 feet at CSA. If you decide you like it and continue on it counts toward your certification.

Also, I don't recall a written test for the resort dive. The only written test I took was for my open water certification. I started with the resort dive and then love it so much I decided to get certified.

Thanks for all the great information. I think we will take the written online ($100 a piece) before we go and then take the complimentary course at the resort. If we like the dive then it sounds like it counts towards our PADI certification and we will get certified? If not then we can atleast say we tried it once in our life.

One last question, if we like the complimentary dive how much more work will need to be done to get PADI certified?

We just got back from CSA and my hubby did the resort dive. He is not certified. Started with 8 people for swim test, moved on to the video, then into the pool with equipment. At that point, two people dropped. Took a 30 dive with some other inexperienced and experienced divers. He LOVED it. He decided not to do PADI course but one of the other guys did. The guy was given a packet of info to read, study, answer. please remember, you CANNOT fly within 24 hours of diving. So plan your dives accordingly.

For Open Water cert you need to do 2 pool sessions, 4 dives, and study the book and take a test. My husband and I did this while we were there. You can do a pool session and 2 dives in one day if you want, although you don't have to do it that fast. You can pace yourself and I mostly only did one dive per day and took a day off in the middle.

I enjoyed doing the book part at the resort. It was not hard and it helped to be practicing what I was learning right away in the water. I did most of my studying on the beach with a cocktail and had no problem passing the test.

I see you must complete 8 laps for swim test. How far is one lap, is it an olympic size pool (50 meter each lap) or smaller pond looking pool. And how deep is the pool? 8 laps sounds very intimidating.

Cliffside:
No, it is not an Olympic size pool. at most it is 15 meters and probably closer to 10. There is probably a pic of it on the CSA portion of the site. It is the pool without a swim-up bar. Don't be intimidated by the laps. You don't have to swim it in record time. I'm a certified diver and I love that this program allows people to experience diving without the expense usually incurred. If you like it, I definitely recommend getting certified, but if you decide it's not for you, you're not out any cash. The instructors are very knowledgable and friendly, they want this to be a fun experience, you'll love it!